Aaron Harker
by Save the Gators
Summary: Aaron " Ron" Harker is you average tomboy. She gets sent to Monsters University and what trouble does she get into when she gets kicked of her dorm? Read and Review Pleas! Even if you don't have an account! Possible TerryxOC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

"Are you kidding me?" I groaned as I stood before my sister in my room. Wearing clothes that show off my figure is my least favorite thing to do. I don't like people staring at me and I'm afraid of men giving me cat calls and whistles. Not that I would get them. My sister, Raina, on the other hand was quite the opposite, she didn't mind showing it all off. I envy her confidence.

"You look great!" she insisted.

"I look like a street walker." I complained. Raina gave me a shut-up-and-smile look as she grabbed my old polaroid camera off my desk and snapped a picture of me in my tight, purple, dress. "Did I say you could use that?" I asked, snatching it back from her and setting it on my cluttered desk. She was already fanning the photo in her hand. She gasped at it, as if it was the first time she saw me in the dress.

"You look gorgeous! The dress shows off your figure so nicely! Hiding under all those sweaters, and-" she rambled on staring at me up and down.

"ENOUGH!" I shouted. She stopped immediately and smiled, as I tied my hair to the side in it's usual, odd, ponytail. Tentacle hands are a pain sometimes when you're doing hair, but years of training have paid off. I notice my sister, still staring at me. "What?" I asked, becoming uncomfortable with her stares.

"You promised mom you'd wear your hair up nice today." she said, wrapping an arm around me and guiding me to my vanity. She practically pushed me into the chair. Raina pulled the two green hairbands out and brushed my long brown hair, even though it didn't need to be combed at all.

"How does your hair stay so untangled?" she asked, sounding envious. I shrugged. I don't usually pay attention to my hair, I just like keeping it in a ponytail so it's up and out of the way, but I like it to the side so I can see where it is.

Raina continued to twist and braid and do amazing tricks with my hair until it was all contained on top of my head with bobby pins. I was amazed that she could do all that. It had to be the fingers. "Having fingers must be great, huh?" I commented.

"I've only got three." she giggled.

"That's more than I'll ever have!" I laughed with her. As opposite as me and Raina are, we get along amazingly. There's no one in the world I love more.

"I'm so glad to have you as my little sister!" she wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me, her face against mine. I reached behind and hugged her back. We always said that fate brought our family together. All my siblings are adopted. Gianna is the oldest, 21, i'm the middle child, 18, and Ricky is the youngest, 15. I got lucky at my orphanage, I don't remember much, but I remember the day I was adopted.

I was five, and it was adoption day. I didn't expect to get adopted though, because I was taller than the other kids, and therefore everyone thought I was older. I was also rather lanky, and i'm sure all the parents wanted kids that could grow up to be great scarers. I didn't look the part too well and every adoption day before that was a disappointment for me. Raina came with mom and dad. She was seven. It was the same orphanage she was adopted from when she was three. It was like picking a pet for her, but my mom and dad knew better.

They wanted a boy originally, but they always tried to look for children that looked relatively like them. That was a challenge in a room full of little monsters, each with they're own unique distinctions. Although I had absolutely opposite colorings to them, I had the legs they wanted. Six little worm-like legs, and that sealed the deal. I am the only one with tentacle hands though.

"Earth to Aaron!" Raina called from behind me. I snapped back. "Ready to go?" she asked. I thought a moment, looking at myself in the vanity mirror.

"Yeah, just give me a sec to myself. If you don't mind?" I said. She complied, and left the room. The second that door shut I tore all the bobby pins out of my hair and wrapped my hair bands back in their proper place. I can't do up-do's. The feeling of a breeze on my neck is weird. I stood up and looked at my dress, wondering how it could look less revealing, but it was hopeless. I stood a moment and looked at myself.

I finally left the room and went down the hall and down the main stairs. Everyone was staring at me and cheering as I walked down. I guess it's not everyday you graduate form high school with straight A's in every course. I worked hard for it too. The problem was, I still didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I just knew I had to get good grades, so if I did decide, i'd be able to get into a good college.

At the bottom of the stairs, my mom and dad ran beside me. "Get a picture!" my mother shouted to my aunt who was running toward us with a camera in her hands. I smiled just in time to see the bright flash of the camera. My mom hugged me tightly again. "Oh my little Aaron!" she cooed.

"Not so little anymore." my dad smiled, getting in on the hug. I was dyeing in a sea of love.

"Mom, dad,one, it's Ron. Two, choking, please let go!" I pretended to struggle. They both released, and my mom suddenly placed her hands on her hips and gave me a concerned stare. "What?" I asked.

"You said you'd wear your hair nice today." she sounded disappointed and I felt bad, but I was happy wearing my hair the way I wore it everyday. Raina gasped as she stepped in.

"You took it out! Why?" she sounded disappointed too. Sometimes I wonder if Raina actually was adopted, she is exactly like my mother.

"It didn't feel right and i tried to fix it and it fell out." I lied, and they knew it. They shrugged it off though and I went to talk with some of the family. Many mentioned how great I looked and how they didn't know that I was so developed. I walked away and didn't look back. Then my Aunt Gigi stopped me.

"Oh honey, i'm so proud of you graduating. Ever considered a career in scaring like your father?" she asked in her new york accent. I knew the answer to that question.

"As much as I loved learning about it in school, I don't think it's a practice I want to take up. I mean look at me i'm not scary, i'm just me." I argued. She shrugged, agreeing with me.

"Someone's got to take on the family business. Raina's going into the culinary arts and your brother is into that biology thing. What are you into sweetie?" she asked.

"I like writing, and D- Jaying, and drawing…. But I don't think I want do any of those things for the rest of my life." I sighed, what am I doing with my life?

"You could always be a mom." she suggested.

"No, no, no, no… I'm not even jumping on that train." we both laughed. My dad called the attention of the room at the top of the stairs.

"Attention everyone! Can I get my Ronnikins up here please?" He teased me with my baby name. I rolled my eyes as everyone applauded me one more time and I made my way up to my parents. "Now we have a very special surprise for you," he began, "Passing with excellent grades, me and your mother have enrolled you in Monsters University!" My eyes went wide at the news. Everyone cheered, but I didn't know what to say. I was grateful, but was it what I wanted?

"And," he continued, "your enrolled as a scaring student! You will lead on the family legacy of scaring as one of the great Harkers!" the cheers got louder but at that point I was too flustered. I bolted for my room down the hall as fast as I could. I closed the door and stood in the quiet comfort of my room for a few seconds before my mother came bursting in with my dad.

"What was that all about?" my mother said sternly, "We were cheering for you!" I was stunned

"Are you kidding me? Mom, dad, you both know I don't know what I want to do with my life. Why would you do this? Why me?" I practically yelled at them.

"You said it yourself, you don't know what you want to do with your life!" my dad repeated back to me, "so we decided to help you and give you a little push down the path we think is best for you." he tried to explain calmly.

"Scaring? You think scaring is what's best for me? Really?" I asked.

"Yes." they both said in unison. They acted like it was obvious why they were sending me, or like i didn't get it. "Honey, we know your confused, and angry, but let me tell you this," my mother placed a hand on my shoulder, "You go to Monsters University, try the scaring thing out and if you really REALLY don't like it, you can change your major, alright?" I stood with a stubborn look on my face, but I wasn't as stubborn as I looked. I heard a lot about Monsters University. Beautiful campus, great teachers, and some of the best have graduated from there, including my dad.

"Fine." I agreed.

"You have to really try the scaring program though, honey." My mom said, still holding on to my shoulder. I paused, really thinking about what I was getting into.

"I will." I sighed, I had lost another battle.


	2. Chapter 2

My sister sat at my vanity facing me as I checked my room for anything extra. I was leaving for the airport in a few hours, and I was a nervous wreck. "I don't know anyone there, what will I do? What if I make no friends? What if everyone thinks i'm some sort of creepy hermit girl?" I gasped. "What if I DO make friends?!" I made that option sound worse than the first. Raina stood up and pulled the rest of my wardrobe out of my closet.

"You need to stop over thinking the whole thing. You'll have a roommate, maybe you can be friends with her." she shrugged. She threw all my clothes on my bed and I stuffed them into my bag. Sweaters, hoods, cardigans, a few jackets, and the dreaded purple dress, along with a matching blue one. Raina looked at the mess in my suitcase. "Everything is going to be wrinkled." she whined.

"I'll iron it when I get there." I shrugged. I either over think something and dramatize it, or I could care less. There is no in between. "I'm scared that when I get there i'll become an outcast."

"I've never heard of you being an outcast." she put her hands on her hips. I was never popular, but I wasn't an outcast. I just don't like being alone too often. I like having friends and someone to go to all the time. I've never been somewhere where my family wasn't there to help me immediately. Raina could see the worry on my face as I mumbled more possibilities of me being alone.

"Hey, you know i'm just a phone call away at any moment." she smiled, grabbing my hands. I pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm just going to miss having my favorite gal pal around," I confessed. We hugged for a long time.

"Don't think it's any easier for me, i'm going back to college too. Just a local college but..." she tried to make everything seem even, but it wasn't. She could live at home, I had to go live with a stranger. There was a knock at the door, my dad's head poked in.

"Ready to go Ronnie?" he asked. "Dad, it's Ron." I hugged Raina one more time then zipped my suitcase, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and walked out the door. My dad placed his arm around my shoulders.

"I'm glad you're going through with this kiddo." he said. I could hear that proud father tone in his voice. I hoped that if I changed majors it would still be there. We walked down the stairs and out the door. Before I could get in the car though, Raina burst out the front door.

"Wait! I have something for you!" she panted for air after running. She placed a stuffed animal in my hand. It was a little green monster with three eyes and two dangly legs. No arms, no horns, a nice simple toy I used to play with as a child.

"I thought I got rid of this ten years ago," I said with slight amusement in my voice.

"Take it with you. For comfort." she said, pushing it close to my heart. I looked down at the old thing and smiled. I gave my sister one last hug and me and my parents were off to the airport.


	3. Chapter 3

I stepped off the bus and onto the sidewalk to my new school. The plane ride was nice, my parents got me a nice first class seat, but that didn't settle my nerves. I looked at the entrance of the college. Monsters University. I picked up my green suitcase and walked under the arch onto the beautiful campus. The grass was so green and every tree had just the right amount of leaves all in different shades. The people all looked friendly as they chatted with friends and explored.

Maybe this place wasn't as intimidating as I thought it would be. As I walked, an eager student in a yellow shirt popped in front of me. "Hey freshman! Registration is that way!" his smile made me a bit uncomfortable.

"Um… Thanks." I smiled back as I walked to where he was pointing and waited in line with a few other freshman. Another eager girl in a yellow shirt was at the table ahead.

"Here's your registration packet! You can drop off your bags here and get your picture taken over there!" she pointed to the left. I did as told and still remained creeped out by the eager monsters. I waited in another long line for my picture and once there, another yellow shirt monster was eager to take my picture. "Say hooray!" he smiled.

"Hooray." I said with a casual toothy smile on my face. In seconds the guy already had my ID card. He handed it to me and I began to make my way out. "How are you all so perky?" I mumbled to myself. I just wanted to settle down and find out who my new roomy would be at this point. I retrieved my bags and made my way to the dorms. The main room was crowded with girls all squealing in excitement and chatting it up about the parties and fun activities on campus.

I got my key and made my way to room 212. The halls were just as crowded as the main room. I made my way through as unnoticed as possible and took a deep breath before opening my room to my dorm. As the door opened, I saw a girl who had long legs and a small torso. She was a turquoise color and had long curled lashes. She looked at me but I tried not to converse too much. Or breathe much. I stepped in and closed the door.

"Uh… Hi?" I tried. She was putting up posters on her side of the room. "I guess I get the left side?" I asked. No reply. "I'm Aaron." I tried again. She finally turned around. She looked annoyed with me.

"I'm Lily. Look, I know i'm acting cold and cruel, but I want it to be quite clear that we are not friends and you aren't to come on my side of the room and if you do you will be sleeping under the bed, got it?" she made her point. I stayed away from her. I unpacked my clothes in silence, and left as quickly as possible.

I called my sister as I walked around the campus and looked at all the tables for different clubs. "Everyone here is so perky and eager and ready to learn. I can't say that for my roommate though. I think she was beaten as a child or something she was ready to pummel me into the ground within our first conversation." I ranted to Raina.

"I'm sorry, maybe you'll get a new roommate." she tried to cheer me up but it didn't work. "You could always sign up for a sorority or something." I practically laughed at that.

"I'm not too into the whole sorority sisters thing. Haven't you seen those college movies, there's always parties and drama and stuff happening at sororities." I argued. It seemed like nothing was going to be great this school. I was glad I didn't get my hopes up.

"Well it'll get better. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but it will." I could practically feel Gianna's smile through my phone. I hoped she was right.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up, not very ready for my first day of scare classes. I got up an put on a white long-sleeve with a baggy, brown, green, and yellow striped cardigan. I put my hair in it's usual ponytail, and then I was out the door. Luckily I was silent and didn't wake my roommate. I grabbed a quick snack from a vending machine and was off to my class. I had some books and a notebook in my arm, and a granola bar in the other. By the time I finished it I was already there.

People were lined up walking into the building. As they walked up the stairs, they touched the claw of a golden statue, what I thought was to gain good luck for the year. I got behind some people and walked in the line. As I laid my tentacle like hand on the claw I thought, "Please give me some luck."

Inside, the room was dimly lit and there were rows of seats upon entering. At the bottom was one lone chalkboard on a stone floor. As I walked down the stairs to find a place to sit I tripped over something and went tumbling down the stairs with a shriek. I landed at the bottom, flat on my stomach my books and notebooks all over the floor. I lifted myself with my hands and heard a lot of snickers and heard mumbles and laughter from the students around me. I was ready to just lay there and die. I began picking up some of my books and notebooks, when someone was kind enough to come and help me.

A two headed yellow monster with four arms and a green turtle neck. "You all right?" one of the heads said, the other extending a hand to help. I took the hand and carried my books back up the stairs.

"Hey look at that hot girl in the back row." I heard from someone in the crowd. I looked behind me, no one. I was the hot girl in the back row. I slumped in my seat a groaned.

"This is going to be a long semester…"

ONE MONTH LATER

I was sitting in my room on my bed talking to my sister on the phone. it had been a while since we chatted. "Ronnykins! How are you?" she asked excitedly, giving me a lame nickname.

"I'm pretty good. How about you?" I asked.

"I'm alright, community college is doing me good. I may just go over to a big college like yours." The thought of having my sister with me was a wish upon a shooting star. I would give absolutely anything to bunk with her.

"I wish you _could_ come here. I swear I can't do anything when my roommate is here, even when she isn't I feel like she's going to burst in here at any moment and beat me." I ranted a while .

"Well… How are your scare classes?" she asked. I could tell she was trying to find a ray of sunshine in my cloudy life. I smiled, knowing that she cared.

"Well, there all right. I'm doing good and the class is pretty interesting. But the scaring itself is hard. I'm not very good at it. My teacher says I have a lot of room for improvement but I think i'm not meant to be a scarer." I gave up. I hadn't told that to anyone. I didn't have any friends and I could barely find time to talk to Raina. I was studying a lot, and i actually got a job at a local clothing store. I had worked something back at home and I was happy to have some money coming in. I couldn't live on cafeteria food forever.

"You know, Ron, you can do anything you set your mind to." she tried to be inspirational. It worked for little while. We chatted some more about our lives and what we were doing. Then I heard the keys jingle in the door. My roomy was back.

"I gotta go, I love you." I hung up quickly, and grabbed a book off my bedside. I pretended to read it as she walked in with a friend. I didn't make a sound. First time I said hello to her when she entered the room she threatened to hang me outside the window.

"Listen up wormy," Tammy began, "My friend here just got kicked out of her sorority. You need to split up." I looked at her friend. She was a squid like girl with one eye, and a black ripped t-shirt on. The one who was always tripping me. She placed her bags by my desk.

" Hey, wait, you can't do that!" I stood up from my bed and approached my roommate.

"Says who?" she got in my face. I backed up and thought. No one came to my mind. I sighed in defeat, and packed my bags as quickly as I could. I made sure that I left nothing behind. Who knows what those girls would do if they found something of mine. "Now get out!" she yelled as I handed my keys to the new girl and ran out the door, my backpack sloppily on my back and my suitcase in my hand.

I immediately called up Raina, "I was just kicked out of my dorm room." I said simply when she picked up.

"What? By who?" she asked.

"My roommate and her friend." I said dully. "Where am I gonna go?" I asked her, as if she knew the answer to everything.

"Go find all the sororities on campus." she said after a moments pause. I was surprised. She did know the answers to everything.


	5. Chapter 5

As far as I knew, there were only three sororities on campus. HSS, EEK, and PNK. I wasn't too keen on joining any of them based on what I had heard but I wasn't ready to be homeless. It was still daylight out, so I had just enough time to sweet talk my way in and get a room.

I started at HSS. From what I had heard about them, they were dark, goth, and cold. I wasn't too happy on trying to get into there. I approached the door and rang the doorbell. A small monster answered, she had two tentacles and mostly looked like an eyeball on a stick.

"Hi," I greeted, "my name is Aaron. I was just sort of kicked out of my dorm and I need a new place to stay? For a bit at least?" I was nervous and it was showing. The girl looked me up and down, rolled her one eye, and slammed the door in my face. In a way I expected that, but at the same time it was really rude. I guess I was a little too colorful to fit in there anyway.

The next place, was EEK. The place looked a nicer. I knocked on the door, and a pink snake like monster with purple hair answered the door. "Can I help?" she asked kindly. I was happy to be around a more friendlier environment.

"I'm Aaron, I was sort of kicked out of my dorm and now i'm looking for a place to stay. Is your sorority accepting any people?" I asked. The girl looked at my bags and frowned, a look of pity on her face.

"Look, I wish we could help, but have no rooms at the moment." she answered. Just my luck. I bid good day and went on my merry way. Not so merry of a way for me though.

The last place to try was PNK. These girls were preppy. Not very keen in joining them. I rang the doorbell and one girl with pink skin and yellow hair answered. "What's up?" she asked. I looked inside, all the girls were having fun and partying. Besides coloring, they looked the same! I went on with asking anyway.

"Um… My name is Aaron, and I need a place to stay. I was just kicked out of my room." I said simply. The girl looked at me a moment, inspecting me.

"Look, we have a certain… look here at PNK. You don't have that look. I wish I could help you. I really do, I feel you, but I can't. Sorry, bye bye!" she stepped into the house and was gone. I grabbed my bags and sat in their porch bench for a second, thinking.

Another girl stepped out, she had turquoise skin, red glasses, and blue hair. I figured she was going to tell me to go away. She sighed. "I know it's no sorority, but try Oozma Kappa. They're dying for people all the time." she handed me a paper with the address and went back inside. I looked at the paper.

"Oozma Kappa? What does she mean it's no sorority?" I put on my hood and decided to find out.

When the girl at PNK said that Oozma Kappa was no sorority, she literally meant it wasn't a sorority. Oozma Kappa was a fraternity. I arrived at the house a bit surprised. I had to try to get into this fraternity, even if I'm a girl. It was worth a try. I walked up to the door, noticing that it looked much different form every other fraternity or sorority I had ever seen. It looked like a normal house. I ignored it, and knocked on the door. I leaned against a wall

A man answered the door. He looked older. He had a brown mustache and wore a green polo shirt. "Can I help you?" he asked with a smile.

"Hi, this is weird but I was just kicked out of my dorm and I really need a place to stay. I tried all the sororities. They weren't accepting." I lied, sort of, they weren't accepting yours truly. "Someone said I should try Oozma Kappa." I gave a sad face, I was desperate at this point. The man looked like he felt bad.

"I'd love to help you kiddo, but this is a fraternity, and as the Oozma Kappa president I can't allow you to stay here. I'm sorry." he closed the door, but I wasn't done. I had to get in, I had to. The sun was setting, and I didn't want to be on the streets after dark. I knocked again.

A different person answered. A littler guy, who looked squishy. He was wearing a baseball cap and a green sweater. "Hello." he greeted. I just laid it on him.

"Look I really need a place to stay maybe you can get your honor or whatever to reconsider? Have a meeting, call the frat board, vote AARON!" I said quickly. The little guy looked scared.

"Uh… I have to go clean… my… turtle." he closed the door quickly and I thought I heard him scream inside. I had to try again, a different approach. I put my bags on the porch and got ready. I knocked on the door, and whispered to myself, "Go desperate mode!" This time a yellow two headed monster answered the door. Each head had one eye but the taller head had two horns while the shorter one had one.

"May we help you?" the taller head said. I got my on the ground and began fake crying.

"PLEASE I am at my most desperate hour I need a place to stay you don't understand would you leave a girl homeless on the streets after dark?!" I definitely scared the two heads, they quickly backed away and closed the door. That was, of course, not the reaction I hoped for. I had to try one more time. What new approach could I take?

"Flirty approach go!" I said to myself and knocked on the door. I heard mumbling and scared sounds. Someone finally answered, it was a purple monster with two long legs that were basically his body and two little dangly arms just below his face. "Hi!" I said cheerfully, "Look, i'm in a bit of a rut and i'd really appreciate it if you could help me out." I batted my eyelashes, twirled my hair a bit, and smiled. The monster looked confused.

"Done," he said, and I was in.

"Really?" I beamed. "Thank you thank you thank you!" I squealed as I picked up my bags. I stepped inside, it was a quaint little house. Not what I expected for a fraternity, but it would have to do.

"Art! You were suppose dot let her down gently not let her in!" One of the two headed monsters scolded the purple monster.

"I couldn't help it, her womanly charms came over me!" he looked at me and winked and I gave him a thumbs up. I could tell we would be great friends.

"I'm sorry, but you can't stay here." the older fellow said.

"What if I did something cool? I can bake!" I tried.

"She can bake!" The one referred to as Art shouted. Yep, we were gonna be great friends.

"My mom can bake too." The squishy guy said. The guys all looked at each other and then at me. I did puppy eyes. It was getting late.

"Why don't you step out on the porch while we talk about it." The president said. I was grateful they were taking it into consideration. I stepped outside with my bags and sat on the porch waiting for an answer. I grabbed out my cellphone phone and saw a text from Gianna.

"New home?" I read to myself, "I dunno…" I typed. She sent back immediately with a question mark of confusion. I laughed, and the door of the Oozma Kappa house opened. I stood up excitedly.

"Come on in!" The older man said with a smile. I jumped up excitedly and practically ran inside.

"Thank you thank you so much! I'll bake a dozen cupcakes! I'll bake ten dozen cupcakes!" I rambled on about how grateful I was. I put my bags down by the couch and everyone introduced themselves.

"Don Carlton," said the president of the fraternity, "this is squishy," he pointed to the squishy guy, "Art," the purple guy who gave me a thumbs up, "Terry with a y and Terri with an i!" the two headed monster. I waved to everyone.

"I'm Aaron. Aaron Ron Harker." I introduced. Terry gasped.

"I know where I remember her," he said to his brother, "she's that girl who fell down the stairs the first day of scare class!" I shuddered at the memory as the two reminisced.

I could tell everyone remembered and I shrugged at them." Weirdos get bullied. Nerds get bullied. I'm a combonation of the two." I saw them living here would be a bit different than it was going two minutes ago.


	6. Chapter 6

"And here's where you'll be staying!" Squishy gave me a quick tour of the house, but I wan't paying too much attention to it. I was wondering if living with these guys was such a good idea. I had never lived exclusively with men before. I stepped into the room, trying to block the thoughts from my mind.

"Thanks, Squishy. Why is there a bunk bed?" I asked. I also noticed how narrow the room was. I wasn't used to such a small room, but I could live with it.

"Oh, it's been there a long time, it's the only room we got left though so-" I felt bad complaining.

"Oh, no! It's fine, just… I won't get a roommate will I? A… MAN roommate?" I asked, scared for the answer.

"Uh… Not sure, if someone wants to join or fraternity then maybe!" He closed the door behind him as he ended the sentence. I immediately pulled out my phone and called Rainna.

"Hello?" she answered calmly.

"R! I'm staying in a fraternity," I tried to stay quiet in case someone could hear me. I didn´t do a good job at it though. "Don't ask how it happened, I have a roof over my head, i'm grateful. But now that i'm thinking about it i'm scared. I mean they're guys. You know how Jackson and his friends were over the years! What if they try to steal my clothes? What if they try to hit on me while I'm eating breakfast? What if they LOOK AT ME WHILE I'M WALKING IN THE HALLWAYS?!" I was freaking out.

"Woah! Chill drama llama," she shouted over the phone, "You need to stop over thinking it. Now, what are these guys like?" I could tell by her tone she was more interested on whether or not I was staying with hot guys. I sighed.

"They're kind of… dorky." I shrugged. There was a long pause.

"Well, that sucks. Thought there could have been some cool college romance going on but I guess not." she shrugged it off quickly.

"RAINA!" I shouted, she was of no help. Suddenly, the lights in my room shut off. I gave an exasperated sigh. "Seriously?"

"What? What happened?" She asked over the phone.

"I gotta go, the power just went out. Call you later, when you actually have advice." I hung up, a little annoyed at the world. A LOT annoyed at the world. None of this would have happened if it weren't for my parents sending me off to college. I wish I had just stayed home, met a nice guy, got a steady job, opened a bake shop with Gianna or something cool like that and lived happily ever after. Sadly I was reduced to living in a house full of men after getting kicked out of my only home by a girl who doesn't know what a shower is.

I exited my room after fussing with the lights a bit. The whole house was dark. I walked down the hall and to the stairs. "Hello?" I called, no answer. "Guys? Anyone?" I called again. "If this is a prank it's not funny." I called again. Suddenly, a light turned on above the stairs, and a cheery looking woman with curlers in her hair was standing at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, you must be the new member! I'm Mrs. Carlton, Scotties mom and Don's wife." She came halfway down the stairs to shake my hand. I smiled, happy to know there was another lady in the house.

"I'm Aaron Harker, nice to meet you. Do you know where the guys are? Is the power working again?" I asked. I was so confused that I was confused about being confused.

"Oh the powers fine! The boys are in the basement doing an initiation." she stopped as if she realized something and then smiled, "Oh, I don't think I was supposed to tell you! Just act surprised when you get down there. I didn't say a thing!" She made her way back up the stairs and left the light on. I paused before continuing down the stairs. A door opened to the left and I entered it assuming it was the basement. As I walked down the stairs I noticed a candle glowing in the middle of the room.

"Oh my gosh," I fake acted, "what is all this?" I asked, "I am so frightened." I laughed at myself. I stepped in front of the candle and Don emerged form the darkness wearing a dark robe. I jumped, actually a bit frightened now.

"Do you pledge your soul to the Oozma Kappa brotherhood?" he asked. Something hit head and I shrieked.

"And do you swear to keep secret" Terry came out from behind me, holding the paddle and making his way towards Don. I jumped again, definitely frightened.

"All that you learn here," Terri finished.

"No matter how horrifying!" Art said coming out form behind Don. I noticed all of them wearing the dark robes.

"Where are you guys all coming from it's kind of freaking me out! I never got a robe by the way was I supposed to get one?" I said honestly, very confused. Squishy appeared beside me and I jumped. "Seriously, you all need to stop that!"

"Do you promise to look out for your brothers no matter what the peril? Do you promise to defend Oozma Kappa no matter how dangerous, no matter how insurmountable the odds may be? From evils both great and small?" he continued, but I interrupted. I was done with these shenanigans.

"What is this dunces and dragons? It's weird and freaky! Yes yes! I'll swear to your fraternity thing, ok! Just please stop popping out of no where and saying these creepy chants, it's freaking me out!" I admitted. " I'm ready to just hit the hey and call it a day!" Everything was either going wrong or weird today. The Oozma Kappa brothers all looked at each other and shrugged.

"Alright then…" Squishy said, taking off his hood, revealing one horn and a bit of brown hair. He pulled out a green and yellow cap. "I can't wait to start scaring with you, broth- sister!" he smiled. I took the cap and put it on my head. I usually don't wear hats but I just wanted to get out of there, and if wearing a hat was the way then so be it!

"Sister," Don said, then he realized, "That's right! You're the very first Oozma Kappa sister!" They all cheered. I smiled, and then something hit me on the head again.

"OUCH!" I shrieked. I looked at who was next to me. Terry had an Oozma Kappa paddle. He looked a little embarrassed out of acting out of excitement. "Please don't-" I began calmly, but another paddle hit me on the leg. I looked to the other side of me where Squishy had a paddle. I snatched it from him and glared at him. "No more paddles! Please!" I said between gritted teeth. Art laughed.


	7. Chapter 7

I woke up on the bottom bunk of the bed. I didn't want the top bunk, there was a bunch of blue and purple fur up there and it freaked me out. I stood up and stretched a bit. 'What are my plans today?' I thought, 'I have work at noon.' I looked at my clock. It was ten, so I decided to get up and get ready. I walked across the room to my desk, which was only two steps away.

My hair was put back in a braid so it wouldn't get tangled while I slept. I took the braid out and brushed it.

If there was one thing I was going to miss about my old dorm, it was the showers. Now I had to share a bathroom with men. Gross. I got out of my pajamas and threw on a lavender and white robe. I had my green, waterproof carrying case with all my shampoos and things in it and a brown towel draped over my arm. I took a deep breath before exiting my room, praying that no one would see me. As I stepped out I was blinded by a flash.

"What the-!" I stepped back and covered my eyes form the light. I moved my hand to see Squishy with a camera in his hand, Art leaning against the wall, and Terry and Terri standing on the other side of squishy.

"First morning in the house." Squishy said. They all seemed to be completely unaware that I was in a robe.

"Uh… Where's the bathroom?" I asked. I think they all noticed at that moment because everyone seemed to be averting there eyes from me.

"First door on the left." Squishy pointed behind me, but didn't dare look.

"Thanks." I said dully, and made my way to the door. I didn't look back, in fear that they were all staring at me. Once in, I let out a sigh as if I were holding my breath the whole time. Another awkward situation partially avoided? Not really.

After my shower, I dried off, put my robe back on, and wrapped my towel on my head. I took a deep breath before stepping out into the hall. My door wasn't far but I knew that I was bound to see someone out there. I stepped out, and sure enough, I almost bumped into Terry and Terri. They both looked the other way even though they were coming straight towards me.

"Good morning." I said, trying to make things seem less awkward.

"Good morning." they said in unison as they passed by me. I was just about to enter my room when terri turned around, "Quick question!" he asked, I could see his brother roll his eye. "Why do girls wear the towel on their head like that?" I paused, and then blincked a bit. No one had ever asked, and it was funny that guys were even curious about that.

"Uh...I do it to dry my hair faster?" I answered. It came out as a question.

"Why don't you just use a hair dryer?" he asked.

"Well, I have a lot of hair and it's just healthier to towel or air dry it." I rolled my eyes but smiled at him. The awkward tension was loosening, which was good. I was about to enter my room, when Terry joined in the questions.

"You look different today?" he said. 'Maybe it's because i'm in a robe!' I thought. "Your face looks different." he continued.

"Probably because i'm not wearing any makeup yet." I pointed out. The two looked confused.

"You didn't look like you were wearing any yesterday." Terri commented. I smiled, that was nice of them to say, even though they probably didn't mean it in a compliment way.

"Well, I guess I did a good job at putting it on then." I ended the conversation and stepped into my room. I let out a long sigh and rolled my eyes playfully. "I either need to wake up earlier or stop wearing a robe around the house." I joked to myself.


	8. Chapter 8

After a month of living with the Oozma Kappa fraternity, i've become used to all of my new brothers and all their weirdness...es. I've actually learned that I myself do not mind being weird with them. I've also been getting really used to my scare classes. As much as I need improvement in performance, I know a lot about being scary. I am great at learning and paying attention and getting more information. Most quizzes and tests we've taken i've done pretty well on.

Today, we were in lines practicing different positions and technics. "I want to see fangs and matted fur, drool is a tool." Professor Knight said. I lifted my arms above my head like everyone else and growled, showing off my sharp teeth. He passed by me, I assumed I was doing alright if he didn't correct me. I looked across from me where Art gave me a thumbs up with his scaring face on. I broke out of character and smiled. I thought everyone looked funny when they tried to be scary.

I then noticed the professor next to me, I quickly growled again and got back into scary mode. I tried not to look at him. "If you smile and fail to focus, you will not get the screams you want, Ms. Harker." he walked past me. I kept my arms above my head and my sharp teeth visible, but I looked down a bit embarrassed. I felt a few wandering eyes hit me and I began to flip out inside. I held my breath until they looked away. The professor corrected someone else and the eyes left me. I quickly released the breath I contained inside, and I felt my shoulders drop.

As soon as class was over, I grabbed all my books and walked outside to meet my brothers. They were lucky they didn't get scolded in class.

"Hey Aaron-" Art called, but he was interrupted by someone else, unfamiliar to me, calling my name.

"Hey Ron!" Jack popped in front of me. Jack was in scaring classes with us and we didn't talk very much. He was blue and furry with two horns on his head. He had on a yellow jacket, he was part of a fraternity. "I know we don't really know each other but I was wondering if you would like to maybe come to a party tonight, my fraternity is hosting it." I was flattered and a bit taken aback. No one ever invited me to parties before. As flattered as I was though, I hated parties and had to find a way to get out of that situation. Luckily I had a real, legitimate, excuse.

"Well, i'd love to but I need to go home and study for tomorrow's scaring test. In case you didn't see me in class I was a bit rusty." I smiled a thank you and walked past him to meet with my friends.

"What was that?" Art asked. I could here some concered brother in that but I ignored it.

"He just invited me to a party but i declined." I told my friends.

"You were invited to a party?" Terry asked.

"We never get invited to parties." Terri said. For some reason, I wasn't surprised. I felt bad for even thinking that.

"Well I don't like parties much anyway. Too many people, too much loud music, I'm not into that." I admitted. "Besides I need to study for the test tomorrow. Did you see how bad I did today? It was humiliating. And i'm more of a D.J so..." I sighed. Art looked down, thinking it was his fault. It wasn't, and I would have said something, but I didn't want things to be weird.

"Lots of people got critic today." Squishy commented. "But it's good to get critic, you're improving." The others piped in, agreeing with him. I guess he was right, but I didn't feel very improved.


	9. Chapter 9

I was packing my bags for home. Thanksgiving break was finally here! I was so excited to get back home and see my family. I missed them all so much and Thanksgiving's were always great with my family. Our house was big, and we'd invite all our family over to eat with us. A lot of my aunts, uncles, and cousins would help my mom, sister and I make dinner. We had to make a lot of food. My mom grew up with five brothers, all married, some with kids. My dad had two sisters and two brothers, some married, some with kids. Most of the kids were older now, but I had a few baby cousins here and there that I loved to play games with.

As I just finished packing my last bag, my phone rang. "Hello?" I answered. It was my mom.

"Hi Ronnie!" she greeted excitedly. "I miss you sweetie!" I smiled, I hadn't talked to her in a long time.

"I miss you too Mama!" I grinned. "I can't wait to see you when I get off at the airport. Is Raina gonna come with you, or dad?" I asked. My mom was silent.

"Aaron, didn't you see the news or listen to the radio?" she asked, sounding concerned. I wasn't too fond of the news or radio, nor did i have any access to it.

"Um, no why? Is everything all right?" I asked, now hearing the concern in my own voice.

"Oh,Ronnie," she began, "storms are crazy over here. This one that's going on now has been going on for two days straight. Thunder, lightning, rain. Sometimes the rain stops but the thunder will keep roaring every now and again." she rambled on about the weather. "All flights to and from Scareywood are cancelled for the week." I gasped. I was worried for my family because of all the storms but I was mainly disappointed that I couldn't go see them.

"Oh, mom…" I sighed, "I'm sorry." I apologized. She slightly giggled.

"You don't need to be sorry honey, it's not your fault." she tried to reassure me and make me feel better but it wasn't working.

"But Thanksgiving is tomorrow." I complained, "What am I going to do now?" I asked. It's not like I had any where else to be. Thanksgiving with my family was a tradition, my favorite tradition ever.

"Well, what about those boys you're staying with? What are they all doing?" she asked. I thought about it. I noticed that I was the only one packing up and leaving to go anywhere. Maybe they did holidays together.

"I guess I can stay with them for this Thanksgiving." I shrugged.

"I'm glad you're feeling better!" she said, although I wasn't. "I have to go now, ok? Bye Ronnie! Love you!" she said before hanging up. I put my phone down and laid on my bed. I didn't want to sulk about missing my family but it felt like that was all I could do. I had never been without them for so long. Now I have to wait even longer to see them.

I heard a knock at the door, "Um, Aaron," it was Squishy, "my mom's ready to drive you to the airport when you're ready." he said. I got up and opened the door to see him.

"Um, it turns out i'm not going." I informed him. "All flights back to Scarywood are cancelled." I sighed.

"Oh, i'm sorry." he said, "I'll go tell my mom then." he said, walking away feeling sorry for me. I gave another deep sigh as I closed the door. I unpacked my bags a bit, then sulked in my sorrow some more before calling my sister.

"Hey, I heard about the flights. It sucks you can't come. I miss you so much!" Raina said as soon as she picked up. I smiled at the sound of her voice.

"I miss you too." I smiled. I knew she could hear my sadness through the phone.

"There's always Christmas, right?" she tried to cheer me up. "One more month Ron, I know you can hold on till then." she encouraged me. I sat on my bed, silent. "So… What are you doing for Thanksgiving then?" she asked.

"I'm just going to stay here at the Oozma Kappa house and see what they're all doing." I said. We both laughed. It was nice to laugh in a time of sadness.

"Well, I hope you feel better. I gotta go, me and mom are getting things ready for tomorrow. Love ya! Bye!" she said, then hung up. I sighed for the hundredth time. I finished unpacking then went down stairs to grab a snack. While in the kitchen I ran into Squishy's mom.

"Oh, sweetie, i'm sorry your flight was canceled. But don't you worry! We are happy to have you at our Thanksgiving table tomorrow!" she offered kindly. I smiled, happy to know i was welcome.

"Thanks Mrs. C." I smiled.

"You're spending Thanksgiving with us? That's awesome!" Terri cheered from the entrance of the kitchen. I looked brother glared at him and boncked him on the head. He knew that I felt bad about not seeing my family. "Ow! I mean… I'm sorry your flight was cancelled Aaron." he apologized. I kept a warm smile on my face, not wanting to sulk around my friends.

"It's fine guys. I'll see them at Christmas." I made my way back to my room with a glass of water in one hand and an apple in the other. Christmas felt like it years away, rather than one month. I got to my room and continued to mope on my bed. I looked around my room for something comforting, and I found the doll Raina gave to me before leaving. I forgot all about the little guy who just sat on my desk everyday collecting dust. I patted him clean and then laid on my bed, hugging him. He smelled like home, like the pumpkin scented candles my mom had set out all the time. I wished I had some scented candles.


	10. Chapter 10

On Thanksgiving day I put on a white tank top and my brown, green and yellow striped, cardigan. It was one of the only articles of clothing I had really within the fall colors. I put my hair back in a braid due to the special occasion, and because I was hoping to help Mrs. Carlton cook the dinner. If I couldn't cook with my old family, I would cook with my new one. It was around the afternoon when I finally left my room. I heard a lot of commotion down stairs and went to see what it was all about.

Everyone was in the kitchen helping make the dinner. I entered carefully, as not to get in anyones way. I finally reached Mrs. Carlton on the opposite side of the room by the oven. "Hi!" I greeted, "Is there anything I can help with?" I asked. She smiled as she looked up from the stove.

"Oh, hello sweetie! Of course you can help! Why don't you go over there and peel the potatoes with Donnie." she pointed over to the island in the middle of the kitchen where Don was peeling potatoes and placing them into a pot to mash. I made my way over and started helping him out.

"Hey, Aaron! Sorry your flight was cancelled yesterday, but we're glad to have you here today!" he smiled and then got right back to work. I picked up a potato peeler and a potato. I tried not to think about my family this morning but now that Don brought it up I couldn't stop thinking about it. It made me glum, and I think it was showing. "Aaron, are you alight?" Don asked. I looked up from my second potato.

"I'm just a bit sad that I couldn't be with my family today." I admitted. No point keeping it in anymore.

"You could always visit them for Christmas." he tried to cheer me up. I feel like everyone had the same cheer up plan, Christmas. The more I thought about it the more I got excited though. I missed my family so much.

As I grabbed another potato from the counter I saw Terry and waved. He waved back and I blushed, going back to work.

"I think he likes you." Don said suddenly. As much as I wished that was the case, I pushed it far away from my mind. It wasn't possible for someone to like an anti- social hermit crab. It was like I was some sort of ancient artifact on display that no one wanted to study.

"Why would he like me?" I said with a 'yeah, right' attitude. "I'm probably just going to always be the clumsy nerd girl in the back row to him." I reminded myself aloud.

"I don't know," Don disagreed, "he seems to talk about you an awful lot." At that I was scared. Terry talks about me? To his friends? Why?!

"What doe he say?" I asked, trying to remain calm and not share my dramatic thoughts.

"Well, I don't know if I should say…" he felt bad, but that wasn't an option anymore.

"Please tell me…" I gave a pleading face. I needed to know or else it would rattle in my brain for the rest of the night, or my whole life. Luckily for me, Don gave in.

"He always talks about how smart you are and how you nice you are an how you notice every detail on every teeny tiny thing you do." he told me. What does that mean that mean?

"What does that mean?" I was dropping the pleading and sounding almost desperate now. But I really needed to know now.

"Well," he thought, "I remember one time after scare class he said how you were humming Beetoven while you copied notes. And that you got every note right." If there was one word to describe my emotion, it would be confused. I have never been in a situation like this before, and it was a bit scary. I had to call Raina, she knew how to deal with this stuff.


	11. Chapter 11

Dinner was ready around three. All together the Oozma's had fun preparing the food. It reminded me a lot of my family traditions back home and in a way it made me feel better about being with my fraternity brothers. Before dinner started I went upstairs to call Raina. I wanted to wish her a happy thanksgiving and maybe get some guy advice. As soon as I was on the phone with her I spilled all the stuff Don told me about Terry.

"Oh yeah he totally likes you." she sounded sure of herself. I was more nervous now than I was before.

"Are you sure? I mean I don't think a guy has ever liked me before." I confessed. Raina began laughing on the phone. "What?" I asked, confused by her reaction.

"Are you kidding me?" she began, "When I was a senior and you were a freshman, I remember all my guy friends telling me how hot my sister was. Jackson's friends too, they were always starstruck by the both of us. What can we say, we are two fine ladies. Luckily for me i'm taken." she enthused. Erik and Raina had been dating since she first arrived at her community college. Two years together and they were dead in love.

"Well, there was one guy in high school I remember who liked you for you." she had a sly tone. I knew who she was talking about. It was someone that I NEVER talked about.

"He didn't like my inside… besides, we do not speak of it…" I said darkly, quoting Aarogog from Hairy Potter. As I thought about it though, I remembered it more and more. I could tell Raina was rolling her eyes on the other end.

"Ok, don't act like this is some darks secret past regret because Lloyd wasn't that bad." she insisted. She wasn't in my place though, she didn't know. She went through guys like a pack of gum in high school. I'm pretty sure she can't even remember all their names. I was the opposite, Leroy was the only guy I dated ever.

He was a good looking guy, and when I saw him for the first time it was like a movie moment when the song 'I wanna know what love is' plays in the background and hearts are floating around your head. He was tall, blue, and had one tall horn on his head. Of course I had to make the best first impression when I talked to him. "Aaron i'm hi Harker! Oh wait, that's not what I meant to say!" It was the most embarrassing thing I had ever said aloud. Yet somehow he liked me and took me on my first date. We went to the movies and it was awesome. He asked me to be his girlfriend the next day at school and I was eager to say yes. We went on a lot of dates and got to know each other really well. He was my first kiss too.

I dated him for six months and then he wanted more. I didn't want to go that way though and I told him but he was disappointed and broke up with me on the spot. I saw him around school every now and again, but never dared to talk to him. He and his friends would always whistle and give me cat calls when I walked by them though. That's when I started wearing sweaters and hiding my figure. If a guy really likes me, he'll get to know my inside before my outside.

"Raina!" My sister yelled in my ear. I quickly pulled the phone away from my ear and winced at the pain.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"I said what does the guy look like." she repeated. I guess I was a little caught up in my memories. I thought about Terry. He was a bit hard to describe sense he was conjoined.

" Can't describe it very well..."

"Send me a pic then." she wanted to know, I could hear the excitement in her voice. I rolled my eyes as I searched through the pile of pictures on my desk from my time at Oozma Kappa. I was planning on making a scrapbook for the guys for Christmas, but for the time it was just a messy collection of memories on my desk. I found one with Terry in it, snapped a picture on my phone and sent it to Gianna. She looked at it as soon as she received it. The line was silent.

"Well…?" I asked, anxious to hear what she had to say.

"He's the orange one?" she asked, sounding worried. "What does he do again?" she asked.

"He's in the scaring program with me and my other friends." I informed her.

"No no, I mean what does he do to you that you're so worried about?" she explained.

"Oh, he thinks i'm smart, likes my humming too, and he likes that I know how to pay attention and listen." I shared again. She was thinking. I knew she had the answers in her preppy head somewhere, I needed to know them!

"Well, it sounds like he likes you." She noticed. I froze for a second and then grabbed the picture off the desk. She was right, Terry was looking at me in the picture. The picture was of Terri and Terri, Squishy, and I. I held the camera above us so we could all get in the shot, and he's looking right over Squishy's cap and at me. I can't believe I didn't notice that before.

"Do you like him?" she asked in a monotone voice.

"I don't know, I mean..." I shrugged. She woould find out anyway. " Yeah, a bit."

"Ask him on a date then." Gianna suggested, like it was the obvious answer. It wasn't.

"No, are you crazy? What if he says no? WHAT IF HE SAYS YES?! HE IS A COJOINED TWIN TEMEMBER!" I freaked out a bit, but she calmed me down.

"Ok, relax, just a suggestion." she said, "Send another pic." she demanded. I did so, not questioning her motives. This pic had just Terri and Terry and some blue guy in it. I could practically hear her studying the picture. "Why don't you date that blue guy? He looks tough." she daydreamed. I rolled my eyes at her.

"No,I don't even know him!" I was already stuck in a situation with Terry, I did not want to drag a stranger into this. "Let's just focus on Terry ok?" I sighed. "What should I do?" I asked.

"Well you can either confront him about it, ask him on a date, or wait for him to do something for you." she gave me options, which I liked. Although, the options weren't that great and I decided to wait until he made a move. Like that would ever happen.


	12. Chapter 12

Everyone in the Oozma Kappa household was seated at the dinner table. I took a seat across from Art, and beside Terri and Squishy. Terry and Terri were on the end seat, with Mrs. Carlton on the other end. Don sat next to Art, across from Squishy. Before the dinner, Mrs. Carlton made an announcement, "Alright everyone, before we eat we are going to go around the table and say what we're all thankful for. I'l go first," she began, "I am thankful for my two favorite boys," she looked to Don and Squishy, both beside her, "and I am thankful for having such lovely monsters like all you around." she gestured to everyone at the table and I smiled, thankful for her.

Don was next, "Well, I am thankful for my lovely new wife and sharing our first Thanksgiving together, and my new son-in-law," Squishy looked down in embarrassment, making me giggle. "I am also thankful for the roof over our heads and the food on this table."

Art was next, "I am thankful for being here with all of you today, and I am thankful to have such nice friends that are like a family to me." he smiled at everyone. We were all a bit surprised that he didn't say something weird.

"I guess i'm next," Terry said, "I am thankful for the food on our plates and the roof over our heads, and I am thankful to live in a house with such great Monsters like you." His brother went next, "I second that, Terry! I am also thankful for Mike and Sulley, who got us into the scare program last year. It has been such an honor!" I wasn't sure who those people were they were talking about, but I decided to ignore it. I then realized it was my turn.

"Oh, um. I am thankful for all of you accepting me into the Oozma Kappa home when I had no where else to go. I am also thankful for my family back home, and I hope they are all doing good and having a lovely Thanksgiving like we are here today." I said, embaressed, and Squishy took his turn.

"I am thankful for everything. For having amazing friends and family like all of you, and for the chance we got to be in the scare program." We all clapped, happy to hear everyone share, then began to eat our dinner. It was a little quiet at first while everyone passed around dishes of food. Once everyone was settled, we started conversation.

"So Aaron," Don began, "why don't you tell us a little about your family?" he asked. Everyone nodded in agreement. I was surprised everyone was curious.

"Well, I have a mom and a dad, then I have my older sister and my little brother. Gianna, she's twenty-one, and Ricky, he's fifteen."

"You're all three years apart." Terri commented, before taking a bite of mashed potatoes. I smiled.

"It was coincidence actually, my parents never actually meant to adopt us all three years apart. It's funny how that happened though." I smiled thinking about it. We always used to laugh about that, it almost made our family feel closer. I noticed everyone was quiet.

"You're adopted?" Squishy asked. I always forgot that not everyone was used to the whole adopting thing. Some monsters thought it was weird. I've gotten a lot of nasty comments about it in the past.

"Oh, yeah. Gianna, Ricky, and I are all adopted." I told them like it was no big deal, and it wasn't. I didn't care if we were blood related or not. They are the best family I could ever ask for.

"Do you ever wonder about your birth parents? Would you ever want to meet them?" Terri asked. I frowned. ¨Not until know. But, it never really mattered as long as I had people who loved me, I admitted.

"What do your parents do for a living?" Mrs. Carlton asked. I was surprised again at how curious everyone was about my family.

"My mom is a marriage councilor, and my dad is a scarer." I took a bite of salad, my first bite of anything actually. All this talking made me hungry.

"Oh, really?" Don sounded surprised, "Living on the family legacy as a scarer then, huh?" he asked smiling. It sounded like something my family would say. All my uncles would be proud and my aunts would just want me to get married already. My dad would be proudest of them all though, and brag about me to everyone.

"Yeah, about that…" I began, "I don't know if scaring is my thing. I'm good at the curriculum, just not as good at the performance. That's the most important part. I may leave the scare program, to go to English, or music." I announced. It was the first time I had said that to anyone. I had really been thinking about it though. I'm still not sure what i'd major in otherwise but I know scaring isn't much of an option for me.

"What? You can't quit the scare program!" Terry said.

"You're a great scarer." Squishy commented.

"Raina, maybe you're being a little too hard on yourself." Don tried, "I've seen you in class you're an excellent scarer. Maybe you just need more practice." he suggested.

"Yeah, you can't just study scaring, you got to practice it." Squishy jumped in. I shrugged, not sure what to think. "Finals are coming up, if you do bad you'll be kicked out anyway. Just stay in till then and if it doesn't work out, you can try something else." Squishy encouraged me to keep going. I was happy to have such great friends who encouraged me, but I still wasn't feeling too good about myself.

I was sitting between Art and Squishy in the first row of our scaring class. The final had begun, and many monsters had already taken their test with the scare simulator. I was a nervous wreck. I didn't bother looking at the books, I just watched and learned what the other monsters did. I was a bit rusty in the performance still, and I thought that if I watched the other scarers, maybe I could pick up on how to move or creep or snarl better.

As I sat in the chair, I started making growling faces for practice. I tried to show off my sharp teeth because they seemed to be the only scary thing about me. I noticed Art looking at me confused, and I commented, "I look stupid don't I?"

"Nah, you're gonna do great!" he encouraged me quietly. I was amazed by how calm he was. How could he not be the least bit nervous.

"I'm gonna fail! What'll I do then? What'll I major in? What will I say to my parents when I go home empty handed? Am i failure?! I AM A FAILURE!" I sulked quietly, and laid my head on the arm rest of my chair. Someone tapped on my shoulder, it was Squishy.

"It won't be so bad, watch Don." he pointed to the simulator, Don was about to demonstrate a scare. I watched as he entered the room, and crawled along the floor to the side of the bed. He used his tentacles to create an eerie popping sound. After a moment, he jumped up and roared very loudly, causing the animatronic child to scream and the scream can on the side of the simulator to fill up about halfway. I slumped my shoulders. It wasn't very helpful at all. "You see how relaxed he was?" Squishy pointed out, "If you get too stressed out, it makes it harder to scare." That didn't help me very much either.

" Aaron Harker." Professor Knight called. It was my turn, and I was not ready. Yet I found my feet already taking me to the simulator. I stepped up and I saw my friends smiling up at me from their seats. I smiled to them, then focused on the test. "I am a six year old boy afraid of mice and thunder. Which scare do you use?" he asked. I thought for a moment, mice and thunder…?

"A low scurry with a crackle holler." I answered without hesitation. Retaining information was a piece of cake for me.

"Demonstrate." he instructed. The easy part was complete, now it was time for the hard stuff. I gulped and walked behind the door and took a deep breath before opening it. As I entered, I got down low, as if I was crawling, and I quickly crawled to the end of the bed and stayed ducked down. I made a soft growling noise before popping up and roaring at the child. The animatronic leaped up and screamed. As soon as the robot went back to sleep, I let out a heavy sigh. "Results will be posted outside my office." The professor said.

I quickly got off the stage and sat with my friends. I didn't want to hear their words of encouragement they were giving me, or see their grinning faces. I closed my eyes and slunk down in my seat until my friends were ready to leave.

"R, it was horrible! You should have been there." I vented to my sister over the phone, "I got on stage and I did my scaring and it was over!"

"Were you kicked out on the spot?" she asked, on the edge of her seat.

"No, I mean it was over, I was done scaring." I explained. My sister groaned.

"Why do you always have to dramatize everything?" she asked, "I bet you actually did really good."

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" I screamed into the phone, "My whole life is over! I'll come home as the daughter of shame! What will I major in now? What if I don't major in anything? What if mom and dad become so unproud of me they kick me out and i'm on the streets without a job and without a home?! I'll be a disgrace to the Harker name!" I landed face down on my bed. The line was silent.

"Wow. Sometimes I wonder just how insane you are. Like seriously, how do you even think that will happen? You're crazy." Raina casually chatted. I don't think she realized I had heated hate for myself at the moment. I just sat and listened to her talk on. "You know what you should do? You should go get a culinary degree like me! We can open up a bake store in the mall, and be happy, and meet awesome men and have children that take our baking store on like a family legacy." she daydreamed.

I liked baking, I just wasn't as passionate about it as she was. Baking was the one of the only things I could do anyway, every other form of cooking was out of the question. I only cooked good when I had help from others.

As Raina continued to enthuse about me getting a culinary degree, I heard a knock at the door. "I gotta go, keep dreaming R!" I said before hanging up. I answered the door and my Oozma Kappa housemates were all eagerly standing there. "What's up guys-"

"Where were you?" Terri asked excitedly. I was surprised.

"Where was I supposed to be?" I asked, confused.

"Professor knight posted the grades, don't you want to go see yours?" Squishy asked. I sighed, not too eager to see my horrible grade.

"Not really. I probably did bad anyway-" I began to close the door and not talk about it ever again.

"You got a B minus." Art interrupted. I froze, then opened the door back up.

"Say what?" I asked.

"A B minus." Don repeated. I held my breath. Were they serious? Was I still in the scare program? Was all that freaking out for nothing?

"Wow." was all I could say. I was in shock, maybe I do have what it takes to be a scarer.


	13. Chapter 13

I had been rather happy since I heard about my grade on my final. I felt like I could do anything, so I did. The day before I left to see my family for Christmas I set up a fun activity for me and my housemates.

I sent all the guys on a scavenger hunt out on the school campus. I set it up the day before, and made it a long one. While they were out, I planned on being in the kitchen and baking them goodbye treats.

"Hey Mrs. Carlton!" I greeted as I passed by her on my way down the stairs.

"Hello Aaron, do you know where all the boys went?" she asked. I laughed.

"Yeah, I sent them on a scavenger hunt so I had time to make a surprise for them without them in the house. Speaking of which, do you mind if I use the kitchen and do some baking?" I asked kindly.

"Oh of course dear! Just be sure to clean it up afterwards," she approved before going upstairs. I practically ran to the kitchen eager to start. Once there, I pulled two pieces of crumpled paper out of my pocket. I had a cupcake and frosting recipe on one, and a cookie recipe on the other.

I began by pulling out all the necessary bowls, measuring cups, ingredients, and what not. Before beginning though, I pulled out my turquoise iPod nano and played my favorite playlist on shuffle. I sat it on the counter and began my work.

I mixed ingredients in a bowl to the tune of Ace of Base's The Sign. Eighties and nineties songs were always a favorite of mine.

Cookies and cupcakes were cooling in the counter and I had a bowl of frosting sitting in the fridge. I was just putting away the last of the dishes when my favorite song turned on.

"My song!" I cheered. I pulled the frosting out of the fridge and pulled out a butter knife. I took each cupcake gently out of the tin pan and on to a plate. The frosting was chocolate, and the cupcakes were vanilla.

As I frosted the first cupcake, I moved with the groove of my song. Let's Hear it For the Boy had always been my favorite song. It's the only song I would really ever dance to.

" Seems like everybody's got a price," I sang." I wonder how they sleep at the sales come first and the truth comes second just stop for a minute and, smile."

As the music got closer to the chorus, I found myself dancing around the kitchen frosting cupcake by cupcake.

" It's not money, money, money! We don't need you money, money, money! We just wanna make the world dance. Forget the price tag!".

"It ain't about the, ha, cha-ching, cha- ching!" I sang. As I passed the kitchen entrance I noticed someone standing in the doorway. Actually, all my Oozma Kappa brothers were standing in the doorway. I froze in place, embarrassed. A few of them look confused and some of them were snickering. I quickly dropped my pose and shouted, "Surprise!"

"You've got some good dance moves." Terri complimented. I brushed some hair out if my face.

"Um thanks..." I responded awkwardly. I was never too comfortable with dancing in front of people, besides my sister. "So how was the scavenger hunt?" I asked, quick to change the subject.

"It was awesome!" Art smiled.

"And incredibly difficult." Terry frowned. I smiled, happy it worked out. "By the way, how did you get the one clue inside the bell of the bell tower?" he asked.

"Maybe some questions are better left unanswered. And I happened to notice a latch on top." I said. "We'll I'm sure your wondering what your last clue meant! A sweet surprise awaits at the beginning of your expedition?" I smiled, waiting for someone to say something about how clever I was. No one responded though, so I continued on, "I made cookies! And cupcakes!" I walked over to the cookie tray on the stove and used a spatula to shuffle them on to a plate. I brought the two plates if sweets to my friends and they each grabbed a treat.

They gobbled them down faster than I expected. Everyone had about two cookies and two cupcakes. I didn't like them that much sense it was high on sugar.

"Why did you do all this anyway?" Terry asked.

"We'll I'm going away for Christmas and I wanted to leave on a good note. Not that I was on a bad one or anything, I just wanted to do something nice!" I smiled. I was happy to do all this baking for my friends.

I got up and grabbed my iPod off the kitchen counter, and shit off the music. "Speaking of which, I have to pack. I'm leaving tomorrow."


	14. Chapter 14

I stepped through the double door entrance of my house and took a deep breath of pumpkin scented candles. Oh how I missed home.

My dad stepped inside, placing my suitcase on the floor beside me. "Welcome home, Ronniekins!" he greeted, putting an arm around me. We already had our reunion at the airport. I was sad to see he was the only one there to pick me up. He did say that Raina was waiting at home for me though.

As soon as we closed the front doors, I heard Raina's feet running towards the stairs. "AARON AARON AARON AAORN!" she screamed as she ran. I saw her at the top of the stairs. We stood there a moment and stared at each other.

I missed Raina's beautiful red hair that curled in all the right places, and her smooth purple skin and striped legs. I wanted to cry, I missed her so much, and now she was here again right before my eyes. I ran towards her and she ran down the staircase. We met at the bottom and quickly pulled each other into a tight hug.

"I've missed you so much!" I cried into her shoulder. Being away from my best friend for so long was hard. I smelled her hair and recognized her shampoo.

She was first to release the hug, but she kept her hands on my shoulders and looked down at me. "Aw, Aaron's raining on her face." she teased as she wiped my tears away. I giggled at her stupid joke, grabbed my bag, and headed upstairs to unpack.

I was happy to be in my old room again. The queen sized bed, the large desk, and the clean vanity all looked so comfortable and welcoming compared to my room at the fraternity. I ditched my bag in the middle if the room and leaped on to the bed face first. It was just as soft as I remembered it. I could hear Gianna giggling from the doorway.

"I cleaned it up for you in here for Thanksgiving but you didn't show, so I've been keeping it spotless since. I knew you'd like to come home to a fresh room." she went on. I got up and grabbed my bag. I threw it on to my bed and began to unpack as Raina talked on and on about her college and family.

"Also, some big news! I announced this at Thanksgiving and I wanted to wait till I saw you in person to tell you." she began, "I'm engaged!" She threw her arms in the air and jumped, waiting for a squeal of delight from me, but I was just shocked. I knew her and Derek were in love and all, but marriage?

"Wow. I'm... Speechless." I admitted. Raina released her pose, and moved her hands to her hips.

"I know you're not too keen on getting married anytime soon but I thought you'd at least be happy for me!" she pouted. I felt bad.

"No, I'm happy for you! I'm just surprised, I mean, of all the things you could have told me I don't think I would have guessed this." I heard concern in my voice, and I felt worse. Raina rolled her eye playfully, deciding to go on with her good news.

"The wedding is in June, and I want you to be my Maid of Honor!" she continued in cheerfully. I finished unpacking, and shoved my empty suitcase into my closet. I smiled at the news.

"I'm so happy for you, R." I admitted, and it sounded genuine, "and I am honored to be your honorable maid of honor."

When my mom came home we had a family reunion in the living room. My parents, sister, and brother were all happy to see me. I was surprised to see that even my little pranking brother missed me. After some much needed family fun, only my mom, Raina, and I were left sitting on the couch, looking through some pictures I took at the fraternity.

"Here's one of all of us. Me and my fraternity brothers." I showed a photo from Thanksgiving. Me and all the guys were sitting on the couch smiling at the camera. I was in the middle, my arms linked with Squishy on one side and Terri on the other.

"Aw, aren't you all cute together." My mom cooed. "Now, which one is the one that likes you?" I was taken aback, and quickly shot a look at Raina, knowing she was the one who told. My sister kept her gaze away from me though.

"No one does. I like someone." I pointed to Terry. There was silence.

"He's alright." my mom judged. "Say, what about that cute yellow guy with the one horn?" she pointed to Terri. "Ma! Why must you jugde everyone you see. You don't even know them!"

"I think he's nice- looking, but you know how I am-"Mother commented. I started blushing- 'Wait, why am I blushing?!' I thought to myself.

"You should ask him out on a date Aaron!" My mom interrupted. "What better way to get to know someone!"

"Amen to that mama!" Raina reached across me and high-fived our mother. I was annoyed at this point.

"Why are you two ganging up on me like this?" I asked, a bit offended by the two.

"We just want you to be happy! With a guy!" Raina snuggled my arm.

"You're gonna get married someday right?" My mom asked. I honestly didn't know the answer to that question.


	15. Chapter 15

I walked through the front door of the Oozma Kappa house. I was happy to have been at my family's house, and now I felt refreshed and ready to get back to college life. Mrs. Carlton entered behind me and shut the door. "Thanks again for the ride from the airport!" I thanked for the hundreth time.

"No problem sweetheart!" she said for the thousandth time as well. She knew I was just trying to be kind, so she didn't seem to mind my constant thanking. As the door closed, I was killed with hugs by my fraternity brothers.

"Aaron!"

"You're back!"

"Merry Christmas!"

"and a Happy New Year!" They all shouted different things to me and were so happy to see me. I was happy to see them too.

"Hey guys! Did you all like my present I left under the tree?" I asked, hoping they liked the scrap book I made them. They all agreed and enthused about how much they loved my gifts, and how creative it was.

"We got something for you too, Aaron!" Squishy held a green wrapped box with a yellow ribbon up to me. I was surprised they had gotten me something. I opened the box and pulled out a green Oozma Kappa sweater. I grinned from ear to ear.

"Aw! How thoughtful of you guys! I love it!" I hugged the sweater and dropped the box. It was soft, and not as itchy as I expected it to be. "I'm going to go upstairs, unpack, and try it on!" I picked up my suitcase and made my way upstairs to my room.

I closed the door behind me when I entered and placed my suitcase on my bed ready to unpack. When I finished, I tried on the sweater and it was a perfect fit. I slapped on the hat Squishy gave me and walked downstairs. " It fits," I announced. " I'm glad it does dear," Mrs. Carlton said. I sat on the couch next to Squishy and Terri. " Hi guys."

" Hi Ron( Ro)." I cocked my eyebrow at Terri. " Ro?" I asked. He nodded and shrugged. " Hey, you guys wanna see something cool?" " Sure." " Okay." " No. " I looked at Terry and made huge puppy eyes. He shifted uncofortably. " Fine...'' " AWESOME!" I said and I dragged them and Squishy upstairs. They looked around my room in awe. It was full of notebooks, pictures and paintings. I went to my computer and clicked 'We Came to Smash'. The origanal song began to play and they turned their heads.

I moved a few words arouns and put techno app combined and made the remix on. Terri began to dance and I rolled my eyes playfully. " That's so cool!" Squishy said. " I've gotta go get the others!" And they eft the room while I continued to D-J. When the others came back in with Don and Art, I was dancing again. " hehe... oops?" I stopped and bagan to teach them how to do it. Even Terry was impressed by it.

I smiled to them, happy to teach them how to do it. Terry needed some help though. I put my hand over his and moved the mouse around. " See you, grab this and drag it to the techno, and my favorite is to... also put it in pop," I said. I pulled my hand away and he did it a bit himself. " Thanks Aaron." I smiled and blushed. Yeah, I did like him.

He smiled back and left the room along with the others. I sighed and leaned against my bed frame. I called Raina and she squealed as if she knew what I would say. " How is it? What happened? Every word!" I moved the phone from my ear and rolled my eyes. " I told them about my D- jaying, he asked me for help and I helped him move it from place to place." " Aww! You held hands!" Raina said. " Yeah, for like five seconds to help him," I cleared up. Raina kept day dreaming and I hung up.

My sister was a dreamer.

To bad i'm shyer.


	16. Chapter 16

I quietly moved down the stairs in the dark, avoiding steps I knew would creak. It was the middle if the night and I couldn't sleep. I figured a glass of water wouldn't hurt. Once in the kitchen I made my way towards the cupboard with the glasses in it and pulled one out. As I turned to go to the sink though, a monster was standing before me. I jumped back not expecting to see anyone else, but my eyes adjusted and I quickly realized it was just Terri and Terry.

I let out a sigh and quietly laughed. "Oh my goodness. You two nearly scared me half to death!" I smiled. "I was just getting a drink of water." I whispered.

"Oh, me too. Can I join you?" Terry asked quietly. Terri rolled his eye. I blushed and nodded, and proceeded to the sink to fill up my cup. Once it was full, I sat at the kitchen table and waited for my friend. They sat across from me, and for a moment we just sat there, awkwardly drinking water.

" Thanks again for helping us D- J. It was kinda fun."

I swear I choked on my water when he mentioned the D- Jaying. "Uh, no problem! I'm glad you like it." The awkward silence settled in again. I quickly drank my glass of water, suddenly tired and ready for bed. Before I got up though, Terry spoke, "Hey Aaron... If you aren't busy sometime maybe if you want we could go hang out or something like a date you know?" he fumbled over his words. I blushed.

I froze, my eyes locked on him. I thought a moment before answering, then smiled, "Sure." I answered.

I could partially see his toothy grin in the dark. "Really? Wow ok! How about tomorrow? The library? Sounds good! Let me get that for you," he took my cup and put it in the sink with his as he went on, "Well I can't wait! See you tomorrow Ron!" He flexibly moved out if the kitchen and up the stairs, leaving me in the kitchen.

"Well that was interesting." I whispered to myself as I made my way up the stairs and back to my room. But inside I was secretly flipping out.

When I told Raina, she freaked. " EEEP!" She squeaked. " Shut up, R!" I said. She stopped for a second but I could tell she was flipping up. " Calm down, he was just being nice," I said cooly. " Well that was REEEEEAAAALY friendly," Raina said. I rolled my eyes and hung up. My sister was such a girl.

The Next Day...

Today I got dressed in a brown green and red cargdigan with a white long- sleeved polo shirt under. I met Terri and Terri out side. Terry had a silly hat on and I questioned him. " What are you wearing?" I laughed.

They looked at me and stood up. They put the hat behind their back and showed it to me. There was a rose in it. " Aww," I cooed. I carefully took the rose and smiled at them. " Thanks you guys," I thanked. We started walking to the library. Terry told me loads of jokes that made me laugh. Terri didn't get most of them. " Guess what my favorite fruit is?" He asked. I cocked my head. " Straw- berry," he laughed, moving his hands from his mouth revealing two straws that made him look like a walrus.

I giggled at him and Terry glared." We are in a library," he said. I thought it was, ex- straw- dinary," I said, moving two straws in my mouth. Terry smiled, then sniggered. SCORE! " I knew I could break you," I said. Too loud though. The librarian hissed at us and chased us out. I started laughing and Terry and Terri helped me up.

" That was awesome!" I cheered. We all laughed and went home." That was fun," I said. Terry eached behind by ear and pulled out the rose. He gave it to me and left. I smiled and blushed, eager to tell Raina what happened.

In My Room...

Raina screamed when I told her the news. " I know! When he asked me, I felt like Cinderella," I said. " AWW!," she said. " By the way, the weddding is next week!" We both squealed and I hugged my pillow. We said good night and I sighed. I layed down and had good dreams.


End file.
